The Battle For His Heart
by pikapiaaml
Summary: The first AAML I wrote! Ash and Misty are close to admitting their feelings, when an old girlfriend threatens to tear them apart! First of a three-part trilogy.


Disclaimer: Same as you always see. I don't own Pokémon. I really wish I did though! And I'm not making any money out of this.  
  
This is the first story in a three-part trilogy that I wrote. The next one will be up as soon as possible. But the third . I've barely started it!  
  
The Battle For His Heart  
  
The day started out as any other. Except . they were lost again.  
  
"Ash Ketchum, don't tell me we're lost again!" cried out Misty. She threw herself down to the ground in desperation.  
  
"It's not my fault Misty!" Ash shouted back. "Everything looks the same! Besides, if you didn't want to get lost you shouldn't have given me the map!"  
  
"You shouldn't have taken the map!" Misty advanced menacingly towards Ash.  
  
"You're the one who got us lost! You said this was the way to Blackthorn City! It's your fault!"  
  
"At least I don't get lost in the mirror!"  
  
"You haven't got a mirror! You broke it!"  
  
"And that's why I'll spend seven years following you around just to get the money back for my bike!"  
  
Brock quickly jumped in-between the two of them, before things got horrifically violent. "Hey you two! Cut it out!"  
  
Ash and Misty both grabbed him and shoved him out the way.  
  
"STAY OUT OF IT BROCK!!!" they both shouted at him. And they resumed their argument.  
  
"Well I've had enough of you, Misty!" blared Ash. "The next town we reach I'm gonna give you your stupid money for your stupid bike and then you can finally leave me alone!"  
  
Having said that, Ash stormed off into the distance. Misty and Brock were both left behind, and Pikachu ran after Ash. Misty looked extremely hurt.  
  
  
  
'Who does she think she is?' thought Ash as he stomped along the road. Then he stopped and sank to the ground. This gave Pikachu a chance to catch up with him.  
  
"Pikachu," Ash murmured. "What have I said?"  
  
"Pika pikachu pi chu."  
  
"I . I didn't mean those things I said. What should I do? She must be hurting a lot."  
  
'Why am I so worried about Misty?' Ash thought. 'Could I actually . . . like her? No way, it's Misty! She's always hitting me and being mean. Why would I like her for that?'  
  
"Come on Pikachu," Ash said as he stood up. "Let's go back. I've got some apologising to do."  
  
"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed, and the two of them headed back.  
  
They found Brock sitting by his stove, cooking something good. Strangely enough, Ash wasn't hungry. "Hey, where's Misty?" he asked.  
  
"Why are you so worried about her Ash? You told her to leave and you didn't care how upset she got." With that, Brock solely focused his attention on his stew.  
  
"I know," said Ash. "I said some mean things, but I didn't mean them. I . just want to say sorry to her."  
  
At that, Brock smiled and stood up. "She told me not to tell you, but I guess I'd better. If you walk through the woods a little bit, you come out on the shores of a beautiful lake. She said she was going there for a swim." Brock pointed through the trees.  
  
"Pikachu, you'd better stay here," Ash said to him.  
  
"Pika," Pikachu sadly said, and he walked over to Togepi, who was just waking up.  
  
"Hey Ash!" Brock called. Ash turned around. " . Good luck," he called. Ash smiled and ran off after Misty.  
  
'That's strange,' thought Brock, 'I wonder why he's so concerned about her. Well, Misty was really upset, it was like someone she loved had rejected her, just like me with Joy and Jenny! Could she be in love with Ash? And more importantly . does Ash feel anything for her?'  
  
"Misty!" Ash called, as he trundled through the trees. "Misty? Where are you? It's me . I just wanna say-" and then he reached the shores of the lake. And there she was.  
  
Misty was out in the middle of the lake, swimming as gracefully as a Goldeen. Ash ducked behind a rock so she couldn't see him. As she got closer, he could hear her singing a song. He'd never heard her sing before, and never heard anyone sing that sweetly. He couldn't help but listen to her.  
  
"I wanna tell you what I'm feelin but I don't know how to start, I wanna tell you but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart. Oh why should anything so easy ever be so hard to do, I wanna tell you what I'm feelin and to say that . I love you."  
  
Hearing that, Ash rose up from behind the rock. "Misty?"  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" screamed Misty, and she lost her rhythm and fell under the water.  
  
Ash whipped off his jacket and hat and dived into the lake. "Misty!!!"  
  
Ash was looking all around for Misty, but he couldn't see her. Then he saw her swimming towards the edge of the lake. He headed towards the surface. Looking out of the lake, he saw Misty sitting on the shore, coughing.  
  
"Misty, are you okay?" Misty saw him and hurriedly wrapped her towel around herself.  
  
"Like you care. I almost drowned! What kind of a stunt were you playing?"  
  
"I think it was the 'I was really worried about you' stunt!"  
  
That took Misty aback, and Ash used the time to swim out of the lake. They sat in silence for minutes, never saying a word to each other and catching their breath back.  
  
It was Ash that spoke up first. "Misty, I . I'm sorry, for what I said to back there. I didn't mean it."  
  
"Then why'd you say it?" Misty enquired, looking into his eyes.  
  
"I . I . " was all he could manage. To him, Misty had him under a spell and he couldn't stop looking at her.  
  
'Why am I just staring at her?' he thought. 'Why can't I look away? Why can't I stop?'  
  
'Why's he looking at me? Why am I looking at him? Does this mean he feels something for me too? Have all my years of waiting have finally paid off?' Misty felt hopeful, but it didn't show on her face. Nothing did.  
  
They were moving closer to each other. Closer . closer . and then .  
  
"Hey, you two there!"  
  
They both flinched and stood up as quickly as they could. There was a girl standing not too far away from them. From the Poké balls on her belt, Ash guessed that she was a Pokémon Trainer.  
  
"Are any of you Pokémon Trainers? 'Coz I'd love to battle right now." She took a Poké ball off her belt and started to spin it round on her finger.  
  
"I'll battle you!" cried Ash. "I'm Ash Ketchum, from the town of Pallet."  
  
"Whose your friend?" the Trainer asked. By now Misty had quickly changed into her clothes and was standing not too far behind Ash.  
  
"I'm Misty Waterflower, from Cerulean City. Who are you?"  
  
"Ask Ash. He should remember me."  
  
Ash was looking puzzled. "Sorry, but I don't."  
  
The girl prowled her way over to him. "Maybe this'll jog your memory," she whispered, and she kissed Ash gently on his cheek. Ash blushed, and Misty turned fuming red. She turned her head so Ash wouldn't see.  
  
"Clara?" Ash asked.  
  
"Got it in one Ash. We went out with each other for a year. I'm surprised that you don't remember me."  
  
"It's been over 6 years since you moved from Pallet Town. I haven't seen you since."  
  
"Hey," Clara said, "where's that girl going?"  
  
Ash hadn't noticed, but Misty had started to head back towards where Brock was. Ash stopped talking to Clara, and ran after her.  
  
"Misty! Where are you going?"  
  
Misty stopped and turned around to face him. "You and Clara have some . some catching up to do, and three's a crowd, besides Togepi's gonna be wondering where I am." Misty smiled a sad smile at him, and carried on walking.  
  
"She really likes you," Clara teased in his ear.  
  
"Clara what are you doing here?"  
  
"Do you like her?" Clara questioned.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I'm just seeing if I had any competition, Ash, what's wrong with that?"  
  
"Is that why you're here? To go out with me?" Ash seemed angry, and he headed back towards Brock and Misty.  
  
"Who's Clara?" Brock asked. "She sound's cute!"  
  
That angered Misty and she started stomping around. "She's Ash's old girlfriend!" Misty shouted out, just as Ash came out of the woods, followed closely by Clara.  
  
Cue Brock to go googly-eyed. "Wow!!! She's gorgeous!" He quickly rushed up to Clara and grabbed her hand.  
  
"Hi Clara, my name's Brock. I hear you used to be Ash's girlfriend, but maybe you'd like someone way more mature than him, so what d'you think about being my girlfriend?"  
  
Clara looked slightly scared. "Errrrmmmm?" she said.  
  
Brock kept on holding her hand, expecting Misty to be pulling him away by his ear, but nothing happened. In fact, Misty seemed quite content to just leave him there. After a while Brock realised he wouldn't get an answer from her, so he just dropped her hand on his own.  
  
"Anyway," Clara said, "as I was saying, Ash and I used to go out with each other when we were both nine. It stopped when I moved away from Pallet Town, but we kept in touch, even when he was on his Indigo League challenge. He told me a little about you Misty, but not that much. He stopped writing me when he went to the Orange Archipelago and I haven't heard from him since."  
  
"So why are you here now?" asked Ash. He seemed uncomfortable that Clara was around.  
  
"I'm here to clear things up with Ash . and maybe get back together with him."  
  
Misty couldn't take anymore. She went and kneeled down next to Togepi and Pikachu, her head turned away from Ash and Clara. Unbeknownst to them, a tear fell down her cheek and landed on the ground.  
  
Clara turned to Ash. "Ash, can we go somewhere that's a little more . y'know, quiet?" With that, she grabbed Ash's hand and dragged him into the woods, with Ash throwing a glancing look at Misty as he went. When the both of them had gone, Misty couldn't hold it in any longer. She started sobbing. Brock noticed this and went over to her.  
  
"Misty, what's wrong?" he asked, and he knelt down beside her.  
  
Misty, knowing she'd been noticed, quickly wiped her eyes and got up. "N- nothing's wrong Brock. What makes you think that?" She walked over to where Brock had now set up a table and chairs.  
  
"Misty ." he began, but he interrupted him.  
  
"Just leave me alone Brock!" she shouted at him. Brock knew better than to argue with her, unlike Ash. Instead, he went and turned his attention to his stew. Pikachu and Togepi wandered over to Misty.  
  
"Togeee toge piiiii?" the little Pokémon asked. Misty smiled, picked him up and placed him on the table in front of her.  
  
"Ohhhh, Togepi," she said despairingly. "One day you'll know how I feel right now. Until then . never mind." She turned her attention to Pikachu. "Pikachu, can you look after Togepi for a while? There's somewhere I have to go."  
  
"Pika pikachu!" he said.  
  
"Thanks," she replied, and she got up. "Brock I'll be back in a while." With that she got up . and headed in the direction Ash and Clara went in.  
  
"Ash I haven't seen you for so long. You've grown taller," Clara commented  
  
"Clara, what do you really want?" Ash walked over to the side of the lake and kicked the water with his foot.  
  
"I wanted to see you Ash. I really missed you." She walked over to him and put her arms around him. "I always tried to find out how you were doing. I heard how you did at the Indigo league. Next I heard you'd won the Orange league. Then I figured the next place you'd head to was Johto. So, I've been-"  
  
"You've been stalking me!" Ash felt strangely violated, and he started pacing around.  
  
Clara walked closely to Ash. He stopped walking and stood still. Gently she reached out a hand and placed it on his cheek.  
  
"I haven't been stalking you Ash. I've been trying to tell you that I ."  
  
She moved closer to him. He did to her, although he didn't really want to. They kissed, and Ash felt a tingle run down his spine. Ash broke the kiss . and saw Misty stood behind Clara, watching him, with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Misty ." Ash murmured.  
  
"What is it with you and her?" Clara said angrily. "Do you love her?"  
  
Ash ignored her and pushed past her, running after Misty, who had ran blindly into the woods. "Misty!" he called out. "Misty stop! You're running the wrong way! You'll get lost!" He could still see her ahead of him, and he kept on following her.  
  
Misty wanted to stop, but she couldn't. The pain inside her made her keep on running. Just this morning they'd nearly kissed, and now he was kissing Clara. At that moment she felt like Ash had just reached inside her chest, pulled her heart out, and crushed it. He was calling her. She looked behind and saw him running after her. That only made her run faster. But, she didn't see the tree root sticking out of the ground. Her foot got caught, and she was sent flying to the ground.  
  
Once down the pain caught up with her and her eyes filled with tears. Ash reached her and knelt down beside her. "Misty I'm sorry I didn't think you'd see-"  
  
Misty turned on him, and Ash could see pain, fire and tears in her eyes. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" she screamed, throwing Ash back. She scrambled up and started marching away.  
  
"Misty!" Ash called. Tears were in his eyes and he was trying to catch his breath. He spoke and his voice was quivering. "Misty, please! Just listen to me!"  
  
Misty stopped and she turned around. "What are you going to say? What can you say? Do you know how much I'm hurting right now?"  
  
"I know, and I'm sorry Misty. I'd never do anything to hurt you."  
  
"Then, why did you nearly kiss me this morning and then kiss her?"  
  
"I didn't mean to kiss her. It just happened."  
  
"Yeah!" Misty said sarcastically. "It just happened. You fell on her lips."  
  
"Actually I pulled him on my lips Misty." Clara's voice broke the conversation, and Ash and Misty turned round to face her.  
  
"Go away Clara, you've done enough damage for one day." Anger was in Ash's voice, and he felt it. His was angry with Clara and all the damage she'd caused. Even more so, he was angry with himself.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere Ash. You see I know you feel something for me. Lie to yourself, but not to me. And I also that Madame Misty feels something for you too. And that's why I'm challenging you."  
  
Ash was defiant in his response. "I'm NOT having a Pokémon battle with you."  
  
"Silly, sweet Ash. I don't want a battle with you." She walked menacingly over to Misty.  
  
". I wanna battle you."  
  
"Me?!" exclaimed Misty.  
  
"That's right. I challenge you for the love of Ash!"  
  
"I can't fight you here! All of my Poké balls are with Brock."  
  
"Fine. Fetch your Pokémon and meet me at the lake when you're done. And bring Brock with you. We'll need a referee." Then she walked back the way they came.  
  
10 minutes later, Misty was standing at the edge of the lake with a burning ambition in her eyes. Clara faced her. Brock was standing to the side of them, and Ash was sitting on a rock watching them.  
  
Brock started the proceedings. "This will be a 3 on 3 Pokémon battle with no time limit. The winner will be the one who first wins two rounds, and Pokémon must be alternated after each round. There will be no substitutions," Brock announced. "Is everyone clear?"  
  
Both the trainer's nodded.  
  
"Then begin!" Both Trainer's reached for their Poké balls.  
  
"Snubbull, I choose you!" Clara called, throwing her Poké ball.  
  
"Staryu, I choose you!" called Misty. And out of the Poké ball comes .  
  
"Psyduck! I guess I'll have to stick with you. Use psychic attack!"  
  
"Snubbull, you know what to do!"  
  
Snubbull attacked immediately. Psyduck stood still while Snubbull used bite attack, and then it's doubleslap attack.  
  
'Yes,' thought Misty. 'Psyduck's headache is getting worse!'  
  
Psyduck's headache turned into a migraine. His eyes started to glow blue, and he released a devastating psychic attack. Then he used fury attack. Snubbull endured the hits at first, and then his energy began to wear down. Snubbull fell to the ground, exhausted.  
  
"Snubbull is unable to battle. Psyduck wins the round!"  
  
"Yeeeeeeessss!" shouted out Misty, and she held out her Poké ball. "Psyduck return!" and Psyduck returned into the Poké ball. Clara also recalled Snubbull. From his seat, Ash let out a small smile.  
  
"Magcargo, go!" called Clara, and she threw out her next Pokémon.  
  
"Staryu, I choose you!" Misty called, and threw in her Pokémon.  
  
'I have a huge advantage!' Misty thought. "Magcargo is a fire and rock Pokémon, and they're both weak against water!'  
  
'She thinks she's won this,' Clara thought, 'but I trained Magcargo to withstand water attacks. Let's see who'll be smiling at the end of this!'  
  
"Magcargo, use dig attack!" Clara commanded.  
  
"Staryu, use water gun!"  
  
Staryu fired out a water gun, but Magcargo had already used dig. Staryu was caught out by the dig attack, and while it he was still dazed Magcargo slammed him. Staryu released a water gun attack, but it had little effect on Magcargo. In fact, he seemed to have enjoyed it.  
  
"Staryu, use hydro pump!" Misty ordered.  
  
"Magcargo, use rock throw!" Clara commanded.  
  
Staryu jumped up into the air, and began to spin rapidly around. Magcargo, meanwhile, had been able to raise rocks from the side of the lake high into the air. Then he threw them at Staryu, before he had the chance to release hydro pump. The rocks hit him square on his central core. He fell to the ground and his energy rapidly drained out of him.  
  
"Staryu is unable to battle. Magcargo wins the round!"  
  
"Alright! Thanks Magcargo!" Clara said as she held out her Poké ball. Magcargo returned to inside of it.  
  
Misty recalled Staryu into its Poké ball. "Thanks Staryu. You did great," she said.  
  
"Whoever wins this wins!" called Clara. "I hope you're ready to lose Ash, Misty!"  
  
Ash, hearing this, ran to beside Brock, bringing Togepi and Pikachu along with him.  
  
Clara picked up a Poké ball in her hand and spun it on her finger. "I hope you're ready to win buddy," she whispered. "Poké ball go!" she cried, and a Pokémon emerged.  
  
"It's . a Tyranitar!" Misty said in awe. She picked up a Poké ball. "Corsola-" she began, but the she looked across at Togepi, and noticed a glow coming from his arms.  
  
"Togepi!" Misty called, and then he disappeared from next to Pikachu . and appeared in front of Tyranitar.  
  
"Togepi, no!" Misty called. "Get out of there!"  
  
"No!" countered Clara. "NO substitutions!" she gloated and then she laughed. This match looked like an easy win.  
  
"Brock!" Misty pleaded. "Let me call Togepi out of there. He's only a baby! He doesn't know any attacks!"  
  
"I'm not sure about that Misty. Togepi teleported himself into battle, and by looking at him, he seems determined to win."  
  
He was right. Togepi had a glare in his eyes that Misty had never seen on any of her Pokémon, let alone Togepi.  
  
"Be careful Togepi!" Misty called out.  
  
"Tyranitar!" said Clara, "This one should be an easy win! Use stomp attack!"  
  
Tyranitar moved over to Togepi and raised its foot ready for a stomp attack.  
  
"Teleport!" shouted Misty.  
  
Togepi teleported out of the way just in time. Tyranitar tried the attack again, but Togepi teleported again. And again.  
  
"This isn't working! Tyranitar, use thunderbolt!"  
  
"Togepi, dodge it and use . use lovely kiss!"  
  
Togepi used teleport and missed the attack and conveniently landed on Tyranitar's shoulder. It then kissed Tyranitar on the cheek. Tyranitar yawned and fell to the ground. Togepi teleported off and landed in front of the toppled Pokémon.  
  
"Tyranitar is unable to battle. Togepi wins the round! Misty wins the match!"  
  
"All right Togepi!" shouted Misty, and she ran out to her baby Pokémon, who was looking tired. "Don't you ever do something like that again!" scalded Misty. Then the frown turned to a smile, and she hugged the egg Pokémon.  
  
"I . I can't believe my Tyranitar lost to . a baby! Tyranitar, return!" she called out, and Tyranitar did. Then she walked over to Misty.  
  
"Congratulations," Clara said. "You won." With that, she began to walk away.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Misty.  
  
"I'm going to become a better Trainer . so I'll beat you again next time." She smiled sadly, and then walked off into the distance.  
  
Ash walked over to Misty and stood in front of her. Togepi jumped down from Misty's arms and waddled over to Pikachu. Pikachu started waving his arms around and speaking in Pokémon-tongue. Brock went over to the two Pokémon and kneeled down beside them. "I think we'd better leave them alone, don't you?" Pikachu and Togepi nodded and headed off back to camp.  
  
Ash said nothing. Misty said nothing. Then, Ash took of his green finger gloves. He reached out and took Misty's hand. She blushed as Ash led her to the side of the lake. When they were there, they sat down and both looked out at the beautiful scenery that lay in front of them.  
  
'This is soooooo nice!' thought Misty. 'I'm here with him . and things have never felt so complete. I've never felt so complete.'  
  
Misty turned to look Ash. His eyes were closed, as though he was deep in thought. Misty thought better than to disturb him, so she just wrapped her arms around him gently and cuddled up to him. Ash returned the hug, and gently the two of them lay down in the shade of a nearby tree. Ash had a vision of a happy life with Misty, and liked it. He smiled . and fell asleep next to her.  
  
Clara had seen that happy scene and ran off in tears. She'd been trying to reach Ash for years, and when she does . he's head over heels for her. Misty. Clara knew there'd been something she hadn't liked about her, ever since Ash first mentioned her in his letters. They'd always argue, and the fact that he'd bought her story about the bike money made her laugh, in a way. It was obvious that she'd found any old excuse to follow him around, to be near him. She couldn't take the thought of them being together, and she started to cry loudly.  
  
"My dear," she heard someone say, "whatever's the matter?"  
  
She turned around and saw two people with a strange-looking Meowth. One was a girl with long red hair, the other a boy with longish blue hair.  
  
"What do you care?" she angrily answered back. She turned and started to walk away from them.  
  
"He broke you're heart, didn't he?" the woman pondered.  
  
Clara stopped dead. Then she sank to her knees and started to sob. It took a while for the three of them to decide which one of them should comfort her. The man went over to her.  
  
"Don't cry. Please, come with us, I'm sure we could find a way to help you." Clara stood up and walked away with the three of them. Unknown to her, the three had an evil grin on their faces, and a devilish glint in their eyes.  
  
When Ash woke up, all he could see was black. 'Wow, how long was I asleep?' he thought to himself. Then he remembered that Misty was beside him. He rolled over to look at her, but he couldn't move. Then the blindfold was removed.  
  
Ash blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light inside the cave. He looked down and saw he was tied up. When did that happen? He looked around and saw Misty struggling on the floor with tape over her mouth. Ash would have called to her, but his mouth was also taped up. He could only look at her comfortingly with his eyes. She noticed, and returned the look.  
  
"Prepare for love-oh!"  
  
"And make it double-oh!"  
  
"To protect the world from broken hearts!"  
  
"To unite folks love with our heart-shaped darts!"  
  
"To denounce the evils of love and joy!"  
  
"To extend all reaches and win, ahoy!"  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"James!"  
  
"Team Heart blast off way above!"  
  
"Surrender now to those feelings of-"  
  
"Loooooooove! That's right!"  
  
Immediately, they removed the tape from their mouths with one quick RRRIIIPPP!!!  
  
"Oooooooooow!!!" they both screamed.  
  
"Team Rocket! What do you want?"  
  
"For once Twerp, we're NOT after dat Pikachu of yours," Meowth answered.  
  
"No, we're doing a favour for a certain broken-hearted little lady," James revealed, followed closely by a bash on the head by Jessie.  
  
"You're not supposed to TELL HIM THAT!" she shouted at him.  
  
"Clara! What did she tell you?" Ash was struggling even more with his restraints, as James went over and picked up a struggling Misty, who couldn't scream with James's hand over her mouth.  
  
"She didn't tell us that much," Jessie said, "except that she'd had you stolen off her by Misty. We didn't really believe what she'd told us, but then when we saw the two of you lying there ." her voice trailed off.  
  
"Let's just say we thought she was crazy. I mean, what would she see in a Twerp like you?" James finished.  
  
Misty kicked and struggled against James, causing him to wince. "Hurry up! Lets get out of here!"  
  
"Sorry, but we don't got any time for talkin'. We've got some . work to do," Meowth teased and he ran away with James, who was still carrying Misty.  
  
"Hey where're you going? Bring back Misty! What're you gonna do to her?"  
  
"Nothing much. Let's just say . you'll not easily recognise her when you see her next!" teased Jessie, and she started laughing.  
  
Panic shot through Misty's eyes, and it killed Ash to see it. He summoned up all the energy inside and called out, "PIKACHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"  
  
To both Ash's surprise and joy, who should appear at the mouth of the cave but Brock, Pikachu and Togepi. But it was too late. Team Rocket had already disappeared.  
  
Brock ran over and undid Ash's restraints. "Quick! Team Rocket are gonna do something bad to Misty! I've gotta save her!"  
  
"Ha ha ha ha!" echoed around, and they all looked up to see Team Rocket making an escape in their Meowth balloon . along with Misty.  
  
"Misty!" shouted Ash, and ran to underneath the balloon. "Misty! Bring her back Team Rocket, or I swear I'll-"  
  
"You'll do what Twerp? We're up here and you're down there," gloated Jessie.  
  
"Ash!" called Misty. "Ash, Togepi!"  
  
That gave Ash an idea and he picked the tiny egg Pokémon up. "Togepi, I need you to obey me, otherwise we'll never see Misty . you'll never see Mommy again."  
  
Togepi looked sad, but was still able to give an answer. "Toge toge toge piii . toge,"  
  
"Pika!?" cried Pikachu.  
  
Ash smiled and nodded his head. They were ready.  
  
"I'm sorry Misty!" Ash called out. "Togepi use metronome!"  
  
Togepi's arms started moving from side to side. They began to glow, and Togepi used an attack. Psybeam. It emanated from his middle spike, and hit Team Rocket's balloon full on, popping it. The air began to hiss out, and the balloon fell towards the ground. Misty fell out of the balloon mid- fall and hurtled towards the ground.  
  
"Misty!" shouted Ash, and he ran to catch her. He did, and they wrapped their arms around each other.  
  
Team Rocket clambered out of the wreckage of their wreckage and got ready to battle, but Ash wasn't in the mood to drag this out. With Misty clinging on to him, Ash felt on top of the world. "Pikachu, thunder attack!" Ash commanded.  
  
Pikachu released a devastating attack, which caused Team Rocket's balloon to explode and for them to go, "blasting off again!!!"  
  
Pikachu and Togepi were jumping around, and Ash and Misty were standing, hugging each other. Brock walked over, and the two of them moved apart. "D'you wanna head back to camp now? You've missed lunch," Brock reminded, and their tummies rumbled together. "But, before you eat, go into your tents."  
  
"Why?" they both asked.  
  
"That would be telling," he teased.  
  
Despite the mystery surrounding it, they did as he asked. Inside his tent, Ash found a note. Misty found the same. Ten minutes later, she emerged from her tent wearing a sparkling blue dress. She found a path of candles and followed it through the woods, to the lake. There was a candle-lit table at the edge of the water, and there was a figure sitting at it, wearing a tuxedo. He stood up and turned to greet her.  
  
"You look fantastic," Ash said. He was blown away with how good she looked. He took her hand and led her to the table.  
  
"You look nice in a tux," she said. She was looking into his eyes now, and him into hers. Brock, who brought up their meal, interrupted them.  
  
"Okay, here's your meal," he said, but then realising, said nothing else. He put the meal down on the table and walked away.  
  
"It's beautiful Brock!" Misty exclaimed. "It must have taken you ages!"  
  
"You're a true friend, Brock!" Ash told him. Brock took a small bow, and walked away.  
  
As they ate, Misty thought that this couldn't get any better. But she was wrong.  
  
When they'd finished eating, and Brock had cleared the table, Pikachu and Togepi, both wearing miniature tuxedos, carried a stereo along to Misty and Ash. "Togepi, you look adorable," Misty commented. The two Pokémon said nothing, but just pressed the play button and walk over to Brock.  
  
A song started to play, and Misty instantly recognised it. "I love this song!" she cried out. The music began, "Out here in the quiet of the night ."  
  
Ash stood up and held his hand out to Misty. She took it and stood up. Ash pulled her close to him, and they began moving to the music. "I don't want this night to end," Misty whispered to him. "It's been perfect, all the way through."  
  
"It's not gonna end for a while," he whispered back. "There're so many things we have to talk about ." he looked into her eyes, ". and so many things I wanna tell you."  
  
'Their eyes are shining,' they both thought at the same time.  
  
"Misty ."  
  
"Ash ."  
  
"There's something I wanna tell you," Misty whispered first. "All these years . I told you I stuck with you so I could get my money back ." Her voice trailed off. "But . the truth is that I ... I ."  
  
"Shhhhh," Ash said, as he ran his finger down her cheek. A blush followed. He placed his finger over her lips and then moved his hand to her back.  
  
"I wanna say it first. I have to say it first." Ash looked down, unsure whether or not he could go through with it. "I wanna make up for everything."  
  
He moved his lips closer to hers, and he could taste her breath.  
  
"I think I'm falling in love with you, Misty."  
  
Misty's heart started missing beats. She felt his lips brush across hers. She closed her eyes . and they kissed their first kiss. Tenderly at first, and then it became increasingly intense. From a distance, Brock, Pikachu and Togepi watched and smiled.  
  
After a few minutes, they both broke the kiss. At first they couldn't regain their senses, but when they did, Misty was the first one to speak.  
  
"Oh Ash. I love you. I have for a while, but I didn't know if you-"  
  
Ash couldn't contain himself and cut in. He took Misty by her waist and twirled her around, laughing. When he put her down they kissed again and to them it lasted an eternity. Just the way they wanted it to.  
  
Brock turned and walked away from the two of them, leaving them alone.  
  
The next morning, Ash and Misty emerged from the same tent. Brock noticed, but thought better than to say anything. They were both smiling and blushing. Brock was glad to see the two of them happy. He was glad that they'd been able to achieve something he never had - the true love of another person.  
  
They stayed there for a few more days. Ash and Misty were always alone together, and Brock was left babysitting Togepi and Pikachu. He didn't mind, though. Ash and Misty were in the early stages of what he was sure would be an everlasting relationship. They needed to be alone to bond together. Anyway, Pikachu and Togepi were teaching him how to speak Pikachu-tongue. It was hard, but he'd been able to grasp a bit of it.  
  
The day that they were leaving, as Brock was packing up, Ash and Misty walked over to him. "Brock," Ash said, "I wanna thank you."  
  
"What for Ash?"  
  
"For helping the two of us to get together," Misty finished. "For that meal and that night . I don't know how to thank you."  
  
"Mention me at the wedding," he replied.  
  
"WEDDING!?" the two of them shouted out. Brock panicked and his face turned pale.  
  
'Please don't say I just ruined it!' he prayed. He closed his eyes and scrunched up into a ball.  
  
Ash and Misty stopped the surprise look and leaned in towards him. "Gotcha!" they both said, and they started to laugh. Brock didn't see the funny side to it, but then he started to laugh along with them. They laughed for ages, and then they packed up and headed for Blackthorn City Gym, and Ash's final badge.  
  
'With Misty by my side,' Ash thought, 'I'm gonna win for sure!' He held onto her hand . and they walked into the distance.  
  
But . what happened to Clara?  
  
"Mom . I just saw Ash."  
  
"And!? Are you with him now?"  
  
"No. He's with her."  
  
"That Misty?"  
  
"Yeah. He loves her."  
  
"I'll change that."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Let's just say . my latest catch will help in that." She laughed evilly, and Clara joined in with her.  
  
And . in the background of the phone call, a Pokémon could be heard struggling at its restraints. It lifted its head and weakly said, ". Mew."  
  
There, essentially, is part one of the trilogy. Keep a lookout for "Against All Odds ." the sequel. It'll be up soon.  
  
Oh and please review! Be kind! 


End file.
